This is Berk.
Its twelve days north of hopeless and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery. My village, in a word, sturdy. It's been here for seven generations but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. You see most places have mice or mosquitos, we have…dragons.
Most people would leave. Not us, we're Vikings, we have stubbornness issues. My names Hiccup. Great name, I know, but it's not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls, like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that.
Our Chief, Stoick the Vast, is said to have popped a dragons head clean off its shoulders as a mere babe. Do I believe it? Yes I do.
The meathead with the attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber, the village blacksmith, I've been his apprentice since I was little – well littler.
Oh and let's not forget the teens. Fishlegs, Snotlout, the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Aster. Their job is so much cooler, putting out fires as the local fire brigade.
One day I'll get out there because killing a dragon is everything around here.
A Nadder head is sure to get me at least noticed. Gronkles are tough, taking down one of those would definitely get me a boyfriend. A Zippleback? Exotic, twice the status. And then there's the Monstrous Nightmare. Only the best Vikings go after those. They have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire.
But the ultimate prize is the dragon no one's ever seen. We call it the Night Fury. This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and never misses. No one has ever killed a Night Fury, that's why I'm gonna' be the first.
Oh and there's one more thing you need to know…
The Chief, the one who supposedly snapped a dragons head off its shoulders as a baby, can take on a Monstrous Nightmare with his bare hands, and chop a boulder down the center with a single axe stroke?
He's my dad.
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I sat bolt upright in bed as the warning drums rang out, signaling the beginning of a raid. By the time I'd pulled on my bearskin vest and leather boots people were already beginning the counter attack. I flung the door open just in time to meet the Monstrous Nightmare that had been casually flying past my house. My hand jerked toward the handle, flinging the door closed and bracing myself against it as the dragon let out a stream of fire on the other side.
It stopped a moment later, probably preoccupied with the sheep or some brave soul who had noticed the thing attempting to burn down the chief's house. Regardless it allowed me time to sprint to the back door and make it outside, stumbling down the hill and around the warring populous in an attempt to make it to the forge.
"Hiccup!" Mrs. Hofferson shouted as I brushed passed her.
"What's she doin' out here!" another man cried, nearly clipping me with the axe he was holding as I ducked under his arm.
"Get inside!" someone else shouted.
I skidded into the forge and made a beeline for the leather apron hanging on a hook in the corner. "Well look o' decided ta join the party!" Gobber said, wiping some sweat off his brow, "I thought ye'd been carried off."
"Who me?" I laugh, hefting a spiked mallet from the floor and onto one of the hooks, "c'mon I'm way to muscular for their tastes, they wouldn't know what to do with all this."
"They need breath mints don' they?" he replied.
I cracked a smile. It was an old joke, me being the best smelling Viking in the archipelago because I bathe more than once a month and learned a few perfume recipes from the Goethi as a child, most of which I've improved on. They actually sell pretty well among some of the village women.
Two men appeared at the window and flung a half dozen weapons on its wooden surface, which I picked up and started working on while Gobber continued to pound on his sword. While I stoked the fire I happened to glance outside and take note of the teens, who were working to put out a blaze across the square.
Fishlegs and Snotlout made it there first, dumping their full buckets at the base while the twins fought over their single load. Then Aster entered the scene, spinning on his heels to douse the fire and turning just in time to miss the explosion that followed. The other teens formed ranks behind him as the wind from the blast knocked his long blonde hair into his eyes. A casual jerk of his head brushed his bangs back, making me sign dreamily and nearly burn my hand on the sword I was reworking.
I had just started to vault myself out the open window when Gobber hooked the back of my tunic, dropping me next to the anvil. "Oh c'mon let me out!" I protested, "I need to make my mark!"
"Ye've made plenty'a marks lass, in all the wrong places."
"Two minutes Gobber, I'll kill a dragon and my life will be infinitely better."
"Ye can't lift a hammer, ye can't throw an axe, ye can't even throw one'a these-" he argued, picking up a bola just in time to have it snatched out of his hand and used to bring down nearby Gronkle.
"I've got it covered! See this will throw it for me" I said, pulling the leaver on my newest invention. The helmet I hadn't realized was there shot out and Gobber reflexively moved to the side, allowing it to fly out the window and nail one of the waiting customers. He let out a surprised oomph and fell backwards in a dead faint.
"See!" Gobber cried, "now this right here is what'm talkin' about!"
"Mild calibration issues-"
"Lassie…" he sighed, placing a meaty hand on my shoulder, "If ye ever want ta get out there and fight dragons ye need ta stop all…this" he gestured with his prosthetic.
"You just gestured to all of me!"
He gave my shoulder a rough pat, the equivalent of a love tap to him, nodding as he said: "Yes, tha's it! Stop being all'a ye."
I nodded slowly, sarcastically, "Oh I see what you're doing, but beware! It isn't good to keep this much raw vikingness contained! You'll regret it!"
"I'll take my chances lass" he said, "rather have ye cooped up in here then out there runnin' about, don' much feel like hearin' another lecture from yer old man bout' not keepin' an eye on ye."
Grabbing a sword from the table he tossed it to me, "Sword, sharpen, now."
Huffing indignantly I did as he said but the dull piece of metal only held my attention for a few moments as the familiar cry of "Night Fury!" rang out just outside the window. My head shot up in time to watch one of the high rise catapults be destroyed. I was so taken with the sight as the invisible beast came back for seconds that I didn't even notice that the sword was fully sharpened until the familiar thud of Gobber's prosthetic hitting the floor shook me from my reverie.
"Stay an' man the fort Hiccup, they need me out there" he said, adjusting the axe on his arm before staggering toward the door. He stopped just at the threshold, eyes shifting back and forth almost nervously before he finally said: "Uh, stay…put…there. You know wha' I mean!"
Letting out a battle cry he hobbled out the door and took off into the blazing night.
Every once-in-a-while I think that Gobber does this sort of thing on purpose. Despite how often he complains about the scolding's my dad gives him for not 'keepin' an eye on me' he still gives me enough leeway to do as I please most of the time. I realize it isn't really his job to watch me – or maybe it is considering that it was my dad who originally started me with my work in the forge – and he's mostly just joking about it, but running off and expecting me to stay put? Not likely.
With that in mind I bolted to the back of the shop, wrapping my hands around the handle of my bola launcher and racing out the door, ignoring the forming line of startled Vikings waiting to have their weapons sharpened. It's not like there's any shortage of weapons in the village anyway and if Gobber can afford to go out so can I.
I maneuvered around several running Vikings, all of whom had to jerk out of the way to keep from trampling me as I made my way up to one of the cliff overhangs. There were a few confused shouts and the standard "Hiccup! What are you doin' out here?" but I ignored them all and eventually made it to the launch site, perfectly situated in view of one of the undamaged high rise catapults.
"C'mon, c'mon" I muttered, flipping my bola launcher open and staring at the darkened sky, "give me something to shoot at…give me something to shoot at…"
There was a long moment of silence before the familiar screech reached my ears, followed by a plume of blue fire that set the high rise catapult ablaze. For a brief moment I caught sight of a black shadow against the backdrop of the fire and I hastened to follow the shape with my bola launcher before pulling the trigger. The recoil sent me tumbling backwards but I was still able to see as a dark shape, barely distinguishable against the stars, was struck and sent tumbling in the direction of Ravens Point with a fractured screech of surprise.
A wide smile took over my face and I sprang to my feet, pumping my fist in the air and jumping around wildly in joy. "Did anyone see that?" I shouted excitedly, too preoccupied with my celebration to notice the Monstrous Nightmare climbing up the cliff face toward me.
It was the crunch of my bola cannon under its foot that alerted me to its presence and my smile died on my lips. "No one except you apparently" I said dryly right before the thing lunged.
Letting out a scream I dove to the side, missing the initial attack and causing the Nightmare to face plant into the boulder behind me. Taking advantage of its confusion I scrambled to my feet and took off toward the village. I stumbled more than once and nearly tripped over my own feet when I took a hard corner.
"Look out!" someone cried.
The next thing I knew I was tackled to the ground, just in time to avoid the Nightmare's jaws. I was surprised to find Aster Hofferson leaning over me, his hands holding tight to my shoulders and his blonde braid brushing my cheek. Against my will heat rose to my face. Luckily Aster didn't notice as he sprang back to his feet, unclasping the axe strapped to his back and holding it in front of him as the Nightmare turned to face us.
I scrambled backwards and hooked my hand on the barrel behind me, using it to rise shakily to my feet. The scaly creature weaved back and forth almost hypnotically, not taking its eyes off Aster while he faced off against it. With a roar it charged and the blonde boy tensed, it was just barely a foot out of striking range when my dad came tearing onto the scene, delivering a hard right hook to the side of the creatures jaw.
It cried out and recoiled, growling at the new enemy. The Nightmare's eyes flickered back and forth between Aster and my dad, obviously trying to judge if the fight was winnable. Evidently it had decided to the contrary and roared loudly in all our faces before turning and taking off, but not before it set fire to the closest pillar, making the fire pit that had been suspended on top collapse along with it.
The thing toppled, scattering burning coals over the wooden trail leading further into the village and nearly hitting me as it went down. Jerking to the side I slapped at the fire that had caught my sleeve, somehow managing to both save my shirt and keep from getting burned too badly.
At the same time the coals startled a group of men holding a net full of Nadders down below, making them reel back and allowing the dragons to make off with the sheep they had been defending. I couldn't quite suppress a cringe as I watched, still brushing the ashes off my sleeve. Hardly a second later my dad was in front of me, grabbing me by the forearm and hauling me away. He stopped briefly to regard Aster, who had relaxed from his battle stance and was holstering his axe.
"I thank ye for yer assistance" Stoick said simply, inclining his head to the younger man.
Aster nodded solemnly and followed as my dad dragged me to the center of the village where everyone was gathering to take stock of the damage.
"What were ye thinkin' Hiccup!" he shouted, jerking me around to face him before releasing my arm.
I rubbed at it absently as I straightened and met my father's angry glare. "I can't help it dad! I see a dragon and I just have to kill it y'know?" was my answer.
He sighed and lifted a hand to rub his forehead, an act of pure disappointment that never failed to make me feel like I was two inches tall and shrinking by the second. "Ye're many things Hiccup but a dragon killer yer not."
"But I actually did hit something with my bola cannon! A Night Fury! You all were busy and I had a clear shot-"
Stoick held out his hand to stop me, not taking the other off his forehead as he gestured for Gobber to come over. Turning to face his oldest friend he pointed to me, "Get her home, I've got her mess to clean up."
Deflated I allowed Gobber to place a gentle hand on my shoulder and begin to guide me home with a whispered: "C'mon lassie."
We passed the teens as we walked. Aster had rejoined the group and was sitting atop a barrel polishing his axe, barely giving me a glance when we went by. Fishlegs just stood there and said nothing while Ruff and Tuff sneered, the former laughing uncontrollably while the latter shook his head.
"Quite the performance" Tuffnut complimented sarcastically. If I were in a less embarrassing position I might've marveled at the fact that he could actually use sarcasm. Instead I just hung my head and tried to pretend that I didn't feel the heat rising to my cheeks.
"I've never seen someone mess up that badly!" Snotlout cried out, a huge grin on his face as he leaned in close.
"Thank you, thank you, I tried!" I replied, making sure that my voice didn't crack as I spoke.
I couldn't even find it in myself to think it was funny when Gobber shoved Snotlout over as we passed.
We were halfway home and, by my judgement, perfectly alone before I started talking. "He never listens!" I said, kicking a small stone in my path, "I really did hit one!"
"Sure ye did lassie" Gobber replied, gently nudging me forward to make sure I was still moving.
"Whenever he does listen it's always with this disappointed scowl, like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich."
We reached the front stoop and I pretended to hike up my belt, "Excuse me barmaid, I'm afraid ye brought me the wrong offspring. I ordered an extra-large girl with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a talking fishbone!"
"Yer thinking about it all wrong lass" Gobber said, placing a hand on my shoulder, "It's not so much wha' ye look like, its wha's inside tha' he can't stand."
Blinking hard I gave my mentor a long stare before brushing his meaty hand off my shoulder. "Thanks so much for summing that up" I said, turning to open the front door.
"Look" Gobber sighed, making me twist my head around to face him again, "the point is, stop tryin' ta be somethin' yer not."
"I just want to be like you guys!" I said flinging the door open and letting it slam behind me.
The telltale burning was already beginning behind my eyeballs when the door shut and I frantically rubbed at them to keep the tears at bay. My dad would be busy in the village all day trying to repair the damage the raid had caused so it wasn't like there was anyone there to walk in on me while I composed myself. It took a few minutes and a couple thousand deep breaths before I snagged my sketchbook from the loft and bolted out the back door.
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The rough sketch I'd drawn of my search area was half covered with X marks before I finally got frustrated and scribbled over the page, snapping the book shut with a sigh. In further aggravation I shoved one of the branches in front of me, making it snap back in my face. I yelped and clutched my nose, spotting the disturbed underbrush over my clenched hands.
Slowly releasing the injury and ducking under a branch I fingered some snapped limbs, my eyes following the long gouge in the earth that formed a perfect trail over the next mound. I dropped into the crater and carefully made my way over, crouching down to peer over the crest of the hill.
The sight of a black body made me gasp and duck down, squeezing my eyes shut in expectation of an attack. When none came I blinked and peered over again, inhaling a deep breath before fumbling for my knife. Shaken but still determined I slid down the other side of the hill and behind a small boulder, crouching for a tense moment before I gathered enough courage to take another peek.
It wasn't moving so I lowered the knife and came out of my hiding place.
"Oh...oh wow. I did it" I said in disbelief, then more confidently, "I did it!"
I walked up to the creature, placing my hands on my hips with one foot on its head, "I have brought down this mighty be-"
The thing shifted under my step and I jerked back with a cry, nearly falling backward as I stumbled. Hastily raising my knife I approached again, not nearly as close this time. With a few grunts and huffs a pair of big green eyes opened to peer at me from where it was lying on its side. I sucked in a breath before gulping down the lump in my throat and raising the knife in an attempt to harden my resolve.
"I'm going to kill you dragon" I said breathily, "and bring your head back to my father. I'm a Viking. I'm a Viking!"
Raising the blade over my head I froze. Both my eyes had closed and I hesitantly cracked one open, seeing that the dragons large green orbs had also slid closed in what appeared to be resignation. My arms fell to my sides and I deflated with a sigh, shoulders slumping.
"I did this…" I whispered, feeling a sudden stab of guilt.
The dragon was smaller than a Nightmare, Nadder, and Zippleback. It was clearly made for speed rather than power, which was obvious from its aerodynamically designed body. The scales were black as night, perfect for camouflage. They actually matched quite well with its eyes…
With a frustrated huff I dropped to my knees and started sawing at the ropes, hardly aware of what I was doing as I quickly worked to free the trapped creature. The moment it was loose it sprang to its feet. I tried to scramble away but only got a few inches before its paw was on my chest, claws mere inches from my throat. Gasping like a fish out of water my eyes widened, meeting entrancing green orbs fitted with slit pupils. It stared at me for a few silent moments before spreading its wings, opening its mouth, and roaring in my face. Then it turned and disappeared through the bushes.
One hand rose to my chest, rising and falling with my rapid breathing while the other was slack around the handle of my knife. After a few more deep breaths I rose on shaky legs and made it half way around the boulder that the dragon had pinned me to before the dark spots appeared in my vision and blotted everything else out. I didn't even feel myself hit the ground.
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I made it home hours later to find my dad stoking the fire. He had his back to me and I attempted to sneak past him and up to the loft, it was doubtful that he'd checked up on me when he'd gotten home so maybe if I made it upstairs before he noticed-
"Hiccup" he said, stopping me halfway up the stairs.
"Dad" I said, sighing before making my way back down, "I have to uh…talk to you dad…"
"I need to speak with ye as well" he sighed, wringing his hands together in front of him.
He took a deep breath, "I think it's time ye learned how ta fight dragons"
"-don't want to fight dragons."
"Wait, what?" we both echoed.
"Eh, ye first" he said, gesturing for me to continue.
"No, no you…" I said softly, moving from the base of the stairs to stand directly in front of him.
"Alright" he sighed, briefly averting his eyes and wringing his hands together again, "ye got yer wish, dragon training, ye start in the morning."
"Oh I should have gone first" I said, running my hand through my cropped brown locks nervously, "cause' y'know…uh…we have a surplus of dragon fighting Vikings but do we have enough bread making Vikings or, or home repair Vikings-"
Stoick took both my hands in his one meaty palm, running a sausage sized finger over the burn on my wrist. I'd nearly forgotten that it was there. "Did ye go see the Goethi for this?" he asked.
"I didn't really have time…"
Wordlessly he dropped the axe he'd been holding in his other hand and reached for the overstuffed sack he'd left on the floor, grabbing a jar of salve and some clean bandages. More gently than most would consider possible he spread the cool blend across the burn and secured it with the bandage, checking over his work twice before he deemed it satisfactory.
He dropped my hand and reached for the axe again.
"Ye'll need this for dragon training" Stoick said, hefting the heavy thing into my arms.
"Dad I…don't wanna' fight dragons" I said, shrinking further into myself at the blunt admission. How the Hel had he managed to go from stern father to caring papa bear and back again in less than a minute?
He chuckled, "Oh c'mon, yes ye do."
"Okay let me rephrase…I can't kill dragons!"
"But ye will kill dragons" he insisted.
"No…I'm really, very, extra sure that I won't."
"It's time Hiccup" he said, turning from where he'd wandered back toward the fire to face me once again.
"Can you not hear me?" I asked.
"This is serious lass" he said strongly, "when ye carry this axe-" he took it out of my hands and forced me to grab the handle again to emphasize his point, "-ye carry all of us with ye. That means ye walk like us, ye talk like us, and ye think like us."
My lips thinned, gaze straying from him to the axe then back again. "No more of…" he trailed off for a moment before continuing, "…this."
"You just gestured to all of me" I said with an exasperated eye roll.
"Deal?"
"This conversation is feeling very one-sided."
"Deal!?" he pressed.
I averted my eyes again, feeling anger and irritation burn hot in my chest as I whispered lowly: "…deal."
He hefted his satchel over one shoulder with a curt "good" in reply before grabbing his helmet and heading for the door. "Train hard, make sure to keep clean bandages on that burn and go see the Goethi if you get hurt, I'll be back, probably."
"And I'll be here…maybe" I said, the axe feeling unbearably heavy in my hands as I watched his bulk disappear through the front door.
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The next morning I woke up late after a long, sleepless night and managed to make it into the arena just as class was about to start.
"I hope I get some serious burns" Tuffnut said.
"I'm hoping for some mauling, like, maybe on my shoulder or lower back" Ruffnut put in.
"Yea, its only fun if you get a scar out of it" Aster agreed.
I skidded to a halt behind them and put in: "No kidding right, pain, love it."
Everyone made a face while Tuffnut rolled his eyes and said: "Oh great, who let her in here."
"Let's get started!" Gobber called, "the recruit o' does best will earn the honor of killing is' first dragon in front o' the entire village."
"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury so does that disqualify her or…" Snotlout said, receiving a high five from Tuff while Ruff let out another bark of laughter.
"Don't worry" Gobber said as they all turned to walk away, "yer small and weak, that'll make ye less'a a target. They'll see ye as psycho insane and go after the more Viking like teens instead."
With what was probably meant as a comforting pat on the shoulder Gobber left me to go stand in front of the class, who had all gathered near the pens. I hiked the axe dad had given me further up my shoulder and took my place next to Fishlegs. I may not be on overly excellent terms with the large boy but he doesn't make fun of me like Snotlout and the twins do. If I were to stand next to Aster, who I'm pretty sure doesn't want me anywhere near him anyway, I would probably only get in his way and be more than a little distracted having him next to me in the first place.
So I smiled shyly at the beefy blonde Viking, who hesitantly returned the meager greeting before we both turned our attention back to Gobber.
"Now behind these doors are just a few'a the many species you will learn ta fight" the smith said, walking the line of cage doors and gesturing at each in turn as he passed it.
"The Deadly Nadder" Gobber began.
"Speed eight, armor sixteen" Fishlegs said.
"The Hideous Zippleback"
"Plus eleven stealth times two"
"The Monstrous Nightmare"
"Firepower fifteen"
"The Terrible Terror"
"Attack eight venom twelve"
"Can ye stop tha'!" Gobber shouted, echoing my own thoughts as every eye in the crowd shifted to Fishlegs.
"And-" Gobber drew out, hand moving to the cage lever, "The Gronkle."
"Jaw strength eight" Fishlegs whispered to me.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait" Snotlout said, stepping out of line, "aren't you gonna' teach us first?"
The smith merely smiled, "I believe in learnin' on the job."
He yanked his hand down, releasing the Gronkle and sending us all scattering. "Today is about survival" he continued, "if ye get blasted, yer dead."
The Gronkle crashed into the side of the arena and scrambled to its feet, spotting the rocks in the corner and making a beeline for them.
"Quick wha's the first thing yer gon' need?" our teacher called.
"A doctor" I shouted.
"Plus five speed!" Fishlegs tried.
"A shield!" Aster said.
"Shield!" Gobber confirmed, "go!"
He gestured to the pile of weapons lying near one side of the ring. We all ran for them.
"Yer most important piece'a equipment is yer shield, if ye have ta choose between a sword or a shield, take the shield" Gobber said, walking over and hefting the heavy piece of equipment onto my arm before nudging me toward the action.
I could vaguely make out Ruff and Tuff fighting over something in the background but most of my attention was focused on the Gronkle, who was chasing Fishlegs around the arena.
"Tuffnut, Ruffnut, yer out!" Gobber called, "those shields are good for another thing too, noise, make lots'a it ta throw off a dragons aim."
Standing behind Aster and Snotlout I followed their lead and started banging my axe against the shield I'd chosen. The dragon reacted almost instantly, blinking its huge yellow eyes and shaking its head back and forth.
"All dragons have a limited number'a shots, how many does a Gronkle have?"
"Five?" Snotlout called.
"No six!" Fishlegs replied, lifting his shield triumphantly as Gobber declared his answer to be correct. With his back to the dragon he made a perfect target and the creature fired one of its remaining blasts, somehow smoking the shield and leaving Fishlegs himself intact.
"Fishlegs out" the smith cried as the large teen ran for the arena edge.
I had crouched behind some stacked wooden planks for shelter, not quite trusting myself to avoid being barbequed. On Gobber's orders I attempted to scuttle out from behind my hiding place but a fire blast to my left startled me enough to rush back to safety.
Over the top of my shield I could see Aster and Snotlout standing together near the center of the ring. Lout was predictably unfocused, grinning and shooting glances at Aster, probably proud to be fighting next to the village prodigy. The Gronkle swooped down toward them and Aster summersaulted out of the way, rolling back to his feet out of the dragons range.
Snotlout, however, wasn't so lucky and barely managed to raise his shield in time to block the Gronkles fire.
"Snotlout out."
With the dragon's attention temporarily off me I had managed to sneak out of my hiding place, coincidentally close to where Aster had landed. I sent him a shy glance from the corner of my eye and cleared my throat, "I guess it's just you and me huh?"
"Nope, just you" he answered, diving out of the way as the Gronkle shot another blast toward us.
I yelped and brought my shield up to defend myself, deflecting the blast but losing my grip on the shield in the process. It rolled across the arena floor and I chased after it, only vaguely hearing Gobber's call of "One shot left!"
Seeing the Gronkle coming out of the corner of my eye I abandoned the shield and started running, unluckily heading straight into the arena wall. My back hit the metal as the dragon leaned in, making me turn my head to the side when it opened its jaws, waiting for the inevitable blast.
It exploded over my head and I hastened to throw my arms up to ward off the embers that rained down over me, hesitantly cracking an eye open to see Gobber dragging the creature away with his iron hook prosthetic. "And tha's six" the smith grunted, struggling with the portly thing, "go back ta bed ye overgrown sausage!" he shouted, shoving it into the cage and slamming the door.
"Remember a dragon will always, always go for the kill" Gobber said, staring pointedly at me as he walked toward the arena entrance.
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"So why didn't you?" I wondered later, fingering what remained of the bola I'd cut yesterday.
Sitting back on my haunches I chewed on my bottom lip in contemplation while staring in the direction the dragon had flown. Natural curiosity got the better of me and I stood to follow the trail of broken branches, mentally berating myself for even doing this. That creature would be long gone by now anyway. But even knowing this I trekked along, determined to see this thing through despite how futile it might be.
The path was a straight shot through a collection of trees and between a pair of boulders. I ducked under a tree root lodged between the two rocks and was surprised to find a hidden cove. It had probably been a body of water at some point given the layers of color on the eroded stone walls. The small lake taking up half the cove and sunken, uprooted tree only seemed to reinforce this theory.
Raising a brow I stopped to take in the beauty of the area before my shoulders slumped. No Night Fury. Plopping down on a small boulder I let my elbows rest on my knees, my hands supporting my chin. Some part of my mind urged me to backtrack and circle around the cove, insisting that the dragon must've flown overhead and was probably somewhere on the other side. The other more logical part questioned if I was determined enough to trek to the opposite beach just to see this thing through, undoubtedly where I would end up if I kept going.
While I was weighing the merits of simply returning to the village something caught my eye. Turning I was surprised to see a trail of black scales leading over the edge and down the sheer drop into the cove. Sliding off the boulder I knelt down to pick one up, examining it in the sunlight before being startled half to death by a sudden crash to my right.
I recoiled and focused on the shape, quickly realizing that it was the Night Fury. Its claws scraped against the wall almost frantically for a few moments before it lost its grip and slid back down, fanning its wings and landing easily on the ground. I dropped down and peered over the cliff's edge, watching as the beast shook its huge head and huffed in what almost seemed to be aggravation.
Black wings spread once again, flapping quickly in an attempt to get airborne. Five feet from the closest wall it started to falter and was forced to glide back down, only remaining there for a few short seconds as it took off with a running start. Suddenly remembering that I'd grabbed my sketch book I fumbled for it and a charcoal pencil, both of which I kept in the lining of my vest.
My gaze slid back and forth from the dragon to my book as I opened it to a fresh page and started drawing. While I worked I watched the Fury repeatedly try and fail to take flight. Cocking my head to the side curiously I whispered: "Why don't you just…fly away?"
Looking back at my drawing I realized there was something wrong. With the edge of my sleeve I wiped away one of the tailfins, smudging the ink over the paper.
"Is that why you can't fly?" I questioned, leaning further over the cliff's edge to try and get a better look.
In the process I lost my grip on the charcoal pencil. My hand shot out in an attempt to grab it but the thing was already clattering down the sheer drop of the cliff face. I froze as the dragon looked up from its attempt to nab a few of the fish swimming in the small lake, big green eyes locking onto mine as it too froze where it stood. We maintained eye contact and I watched as the flaps on the sides of its head twitched with my small movements.
I can't get over how mesmerizing its eyes are…big and green with narrowed pupils in the center. Kind of like the descriptions I've heard about the furry creatures that some easterners keep as pets, cats they call them. A few people claim to have seen them on the trade ships that port at the docks occasionally but no one ever buys one, can't take Berk winters they say. No food to spare for them either.
Head cocked to one side I continued staring even as I stood and slowly felt my way back out of the cove, waiting until I could no longer see the dragon before turning and making my way back to the village.
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I made it to the mead hall later on in the night, once again arriving just in time to catch the tail end of a conversation.
"-mistimed my summersault dive, it was sloppy and threw off my reverse tumble" I heard Aster say as I crossed the room and approached the table.
"Yea, we noticed" Ruffnut said with obvious sarcasm.
Huh, so it wasn't just Tuffnut who could use sarcasm.
"No don't" Snotlout protested, obviously sucking up, "you were great, that was so Aster."
I was close enough to see the twins and Aster roll their eyes while Gobber said: "He's right, ye have ta be tough on yerselves."
I walked up to the table and picked up a slab of meat resting on the edge. Snotlout scooted down the bench toward me, obviously trying to make sure that there was no space. Not that I would have actually considered sitting next to him anyway, he would have just poked fun at me the entire time, purposely elbowing me in the ribs, shoving food in my hair and pulling it when he thought I wasn't looking. The tactics he'd used when we were little probably hadn't changed too much.
"Where'd Hiccup go wrong?" Gobber asked as I circled around Lout and Legs, snagging a cup while Snotlout slid back down to the other end of the table. Fishlegs shot me a smile as I passed him and despite my damper mood I returned it before taking a seat the next table over.
"Uh, she showed up?" Ruffnut said.
"She didn't get eaten?" Tuff put in.
Aster rolled his eyes at them both, "She's never where she should be."
"Thank ye Aster!" Gobber said, "ye need ta live and breathe this stuff."
The smith strolled around the table, thumping both Ruff and Tuff as he passed before slamming a book in front of them. "The Dragon Manual, everythin' we know about every dragon we know'a."
From the corner of my eye I watched as Gobber lifted his head and took note of the thunder outside the hall, "No attacks t'night, hurry up" he said before exiting the hall.
"Wait" Tuff said, "you mean read?"
"While we're still alive?" Ruff continued.
Gee they make that sound like a fate worse than death or something.
"Why read words when you can just kill the things the words tell you stuff about?" Snotlout questioned.
"Oh, oh" Fishlegs said excitedly, "I've read it like seven times! There's this water dragon that sprays boiling water at your face and there's this other one who buries itself for like a week-"
"Yea, yea, yea, okay" Tuff interrupted, "there was a chance I was gonna' read that-"
"-but now…" Ruff finished.
"You guys read, I'll go kill stuff" Snotlout said, standing from his seat and heading for the hall doors. Ruff and Tuff got up to follow while Legs knocked the bench over to hurry after them.
Standing up I walked over to the table, "So…I guess we'll share-"
"Read it" Aster said, shoving the book across the table toward me before heading for the door.
"Wow, all mine now. Gee…uh I guess I'll see you-" the door slammed shut, "-tomorrow..."
Sighing deeply I grabbed the book and took it back to my table, nibbling on my meal as I flipped the front cover open.
"Geez…what's so wrong about reading?" Fishlegs grumbled, obviously having given up trying to convince Snotlout to the contrary as he plopped down opposite me at the table.
"I dunno' Fishlegs maybe it just isn't their thing" I said, already glancing over the first page.
His head had been propped up by his hands but he shifted to lean on one while the other gestured to the book, "I know that, but do they have to bag on the Manual? I mean they treat it like it isn't important. Information is just as useful as muscle, maybe even more because without information you wouldn't even know where to apply the force in a fight!"
He threw his arms up in exasperation before taking a swig of the cup I hadn't realized he'd brought from the other table. My shoulders rose and fell in a halfhearted shrug as I flipped the page again, only part of my attention on the book as I listened to Fish's woes.
He let out a deep sigh before sliding the cup to the other side of the table and standing, managing to only slide the bench back and not knock it over this time. "Well I guess I'm gonna' head home then, see you at dragon training tomorrow Hiccup. Try checking out the Whispering Death and Scauldron in that book, they're interesting."
He gave a small wave before tromping to the doors, letting a torrent of rain drench the floor before it slammed behind him. I raised a brow, briefly wondering why he'd stayed to talk when we didn't really know each other before realizing that it didn't matter very much. Fishlegs was always a lot nicer than the others, even my crush Aster, with no one else around it won't ruin his rep to be seen with me.
Sighing deeply I returned my attention to the book, "Okay, dragon classifications, Strike class, Mystery class, Fear class."
There was the Thunderdrum, reclusive, inhabiting sea caves and dark tide pools. When startled produces a concussive sound that can kill a man at close range. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight.
The Timberjack, gigantic with razor sharp wings that can cut through full grown trees. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight.
Scauldron, sprays scalding hot water at its victim. Extremely dangerous, kill on sight.
There was a clap of thunder and I whipped around with a startled cry, watching one of the hall doors fly open and bang against the wall. If I wasn't aware of how badly those doors needed to be fixed I might've suspected that someone…or something, had managed to get in. Not wanting to dwell on that thought for too long I shook my head and turned my attention back to the book.
Changewing, even newly hatched dragons can spray acid. Kill on sight.
Gronkle.
Zippleback.
The Skrill.
Boneknapper.
Whispering Death.
Burns its victims.
Buries its victims.
Chokes its victims.
Turns its victims inside out.
Extremely dangerous.
Extremely dangerous.
Kill on sight.
Kill on sight.
Kill on sight.
After flipping through half the book I came to the last page with ink on it.
The Night Fury.
There wasn't an illustration to go along with the words printed at the top of the page, pretty much the entire thing was blank. For some reason that made it more ominous than anything else in the book. My fingertips skimmed the stats written at the bottom, the only thing there beside the title.
Speed Unknown.
Size Unknown.
The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.
Never engage this dragon, your only chance is to hide and pray that it does not find you.
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The next day we trained with the Deadly Nadder. I'm not sure how Gobber managed it but he'd set up a maze of walls that the Nadder was using as footholds to try and roast us from above. While the other teens ran around like chickens with their heads cut off I stood near one of the walls, trying to catch my mentor's eye from where he was leaning against the chains that created the arena dome.
"So I noticed that the book didn't have much on Night Furies and I was wondering is there like a second book? Maybe a Night Fury pamphlet or something?"
I had been using my shield and axe to gesture along with my arms as I talked. The weapon had actually become much easier to wield in the past few days, though that didn't really matter now as the Nadder shot the blade off. I let out a startled cry and jerked back but amazingly kept ahold of the handle, staring at the smoking end in shock.
"Focus Hiccup!" Gobber called, "yer not even tryin'."
The Nadder dropped down into the stretch of maze directly in front of me and charged. Without too much thought I turned and ran down another path only to be followed by the dragon, which hopped up onto the maze walls and continued in pursuit.
"T'day is all about attack" Gobber called, putting emphasis on the last word, "Nadders're quick and light on their feet, yer job is ta be quicker and lighter."
The Nadder disappeared and I huffed a few breaths, making sure to look left and right to be certain that it was truly gone before making my way back to Gobber. There was a screech somewhere off to the right, probably someone else catching the dragons attention.
"I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods!" Fishlegs shouted a ways off.
Hiccup couldn't quite suppress a smile at that. Gobber would probably never revise those methods, he'd employed something similar when training her in the forge though she suspected that he'd gone a bit easy on her given that she'd been barely waist high when he'd officially taken her as his apprentice.
"Look for its blind spot!" Gobber called out.
I glanced behind me and took note of the Nadder heading my way again. Not wanting to lose my head the same way I'd lost my weapon I took off running, passing the twins as I went.
"Every dragon has one, find it, hide in it, and strike."
Rounding a few more corners I almost smashed right into Aster, who was lying in wait behind a sharp bend with Snotlout standing behind him. My cousin sneered when he saw me, "Still here Hiccup? Why don't you leave it to the real Vikings?"
"Who else would the dragon use to pick your hide out of its teeth" I muttered automatically.
Surprisingly Aster chuckled. It was only for a brief moment and probably could have been mistaken for a cough, either that or it was a cough that I'd mistaken for a laugh. But by the time I'd turned his face was back to the neutral expression he always wore. If it weren't for the strange look Snotlout was sending him I might've convinced myself that I'd imagined the whole thing.
Fortunately for me Aster's unwilling intervention kept Snotlout from replying if he'd actually managed to hear my comeback. Soon enough we were all dashing around corners to avoid the Nadder, which had finished with the Thorston twins and decided to come after the rest of us again.
It was while we were running that I noticed Gobber still leaning against the chain links of the dome and skidded to a stop. "So how would one sneak up on a Night Fury?" I asked.
My mentor's hand came up to rub his forehead and for a moment I imagined that it was my father standing over me, that familiar look of exhausted disappointment on his face as he tried to massage the ache out of his head. Then I blinked and it was gone, just Gobber looking slightly aggravated with me for not paying attention.
"No one's ever met one and lived ta tell the tale. Now get in there!" he shouted.
Knowing from years of experience that Gobber was past the point of argument I took a few steps back but refused to give up the discussion. "I know, I know but hypothetically…"
There was movement out of the corner of my eye and I turned to find Aster and Snotlout crouching next to a wall, clearly trying to sneak up on the beast. They barely spared me a glace except to shoot me a hard glare warning me to be quiet, which I was.
Aster led the way, peering around the corner to make sure that the Nadder was distracted before summersaulting across the gap. Snotlout followed and I attempted to copy them only to fail and collapse halfway through. The clang of my shield against the ground alerted the dragon to my presence and I cried out as it made a beeline for me, scrambling to my feet and sprinting down the same way Snotlout and Aster had gone.
The Nadder disappeared and I skidded to a stop again, trying to catch my breath while glancing nervously back and forth in expectation of an attack. Aster came tearing down the path directly in front of me with Snotlout right behind him, rambling about something or other before turning off on one of the side corners. Aster kept going straight, forcing me to duck to avoid both his sharp turn and the Nadder, who practically barreled into the wall in an attempt to follow him.
As a result all the maze walls started tumbling down but I wasn't paying too much attention to that, moving back over to where Gobber was relaxing and attempting to get a bit more information.
"H-has anyone ever seen one napping?" I asked, ignoring the twins and Fishlegs as they nearly knocked me over running past.
"Hiccup!" Gobber shouted half in warning half in irritation.
I whirled around just in time to see Aster vault over one of the walls, shouting as he attempted to keep his balance before hopping to another.
"Hiccup!" Aster shouted as he dove my way, the Nadder following close behind.
He landed on top of me, his axe getting stuck in my shield, while the dragon missed us by an inch. Aster struggled to pull his weapon from my shield and for a second I became aware of the twins standing a ways off.
"Oh, love on the battlefield" Tuffnut drawled.
"He could do better" Ruffnut replied.
Always nice when someone says the truth you know but don't really want to hear spoken out loud, especially so bluntly.
The next thing I knew Aster's hand was on my chest, making me flush to the roots of my hair as he finally retched the shield, still stuck in his axe, from my arm and sprang to his feet. A single swing later and the Nadder was limping off with an almost pitiful whine, most of the shield decimated from the contact though there was still a sizable chunk of wood stuck to one of the blades.
"Well done Aster" Gobber called.
I was still lying on the ground in semi-shock when he whirled on me, clutching his axe in one hand. "Is this some kind of a joke to you?" he demanded, "our parent's war is about to become ours, figure out which side you're on."
The blonde looked like he was about to spin on his heel and walk away but checked himself at the last second. Conflict shown on his normally impassive face, but it disappeared and he turned to go, followed by the others. They didn't fail to give me a few scowls and head shakes of their own as they left.
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I returned to the cove later that day, moving to the entrance with a shield in one hand and an islandic cod in the other. Peering over my only source of defense and confirming that the Night Fury wasn't in immediate striking distance I tossed the fish through the opening and onto the ground.
I'm not quite sure what I expected, maybe for the creature to suddenly spring out of nowhere and tear the food apart. It had seemed pretty hungry when I'd been observing it yesterday. Curious with the lack of response I moved to enter the cove only for my shield to get jammed between the rocks. I tried to shove it through, which didn't work, before hopping over and making a halfhearted attempt to pull it lose.
Unsurprisingly that failed as well.
So I walked over to the fish and picked it up by the gills, making my way further into the seemingly vacant cove. I kept looking back and forth, skittishly trying to make sure that I wasn't about to be mauled to death. Didn't take long to spot to dragon crouched over a huge rocky outcropping two dozen feet away and I visibly started.
The long black body slid over the lip of the ledge and silently hit the ground, sniffing at the air and lowering itself into a defensive crouch. Warily I held out the fish. Big green eyes blinked at me before the large creature took a step forward. It recoiled just as quickly, snarling as its eyes narrowed on my belt.
I lifted the arm holding the fish higher and realized that it was looking at my dagger, which I reached for, only to pause when it let out a low growl.
"No, no, no, no" I said, taking the weapon between two fingers and dropping it on the ground. The dragon still didn't look convinced so I lifted it with the toe of my boot and tossed it into the lake. Green eyes followed the glinting piece of metal until it sunk below the surface then, to my eternal surprise, the creature sat back in the very picture of relaxation.
A bit more confidently I offered the fish.
The approach was slow, with the dragon angling its body sideways as if preparing for a quick take off. It moved one back leg forward then shuffled with its front legs in a bizarre inching maneuver that was probably meant to be cautious. Toothless jaws open when it finally got close enough to accept the treat.
"Huh, toothless?" I say, my brows drawing together as I examine the close up view of its gummy mouth, "I could have sworn you had-"
Two rows of sharp teeth snap out of its gums and it lunges for the fish, snatching it out of my hands before I have time to utter so much as a surprised squeak. I yank both hands back and cradle them against my chest. "…teeth" I finish.
The dragon licks its chops before focusing back on me and slithering closer. I scuttle backward, stumbling over my own feet and eventually falling against a boulder as it shoves its nose in my face. "I-I don't have anymore" I blurt out, closing my eyes and pressing myself even closer to the rock.
The Fury takes a few deep whiffs before pulling back and I crack an eye open long enough to see it start to sniffle and spasm, regurgitating half the fish I just gave it into my lap. My nose scrunches as I stare at the saliva-coated cod. The dragon sits back on its haunches while I stare at what's left of the meal. When I look up those huge green orbs are staring at me again. The pupils move from the fish, to my face, then back again.
Startled my gaze whips to the fish, then to the dragon, and back to the fish, not wanting to believe that it wants me to do what I think it wants me to do. Unfortunately it does, opening its mouth and licking its lips as a form of illustration. Suppressing another cringe I wrap my hands around the slimy meal and bring it closer to my face, shooting another glance at the dragon. It licks its lips again, probably encouraging me to continue.
I raise the tail to my mouth and take a huge bite, the taste of raw meat and dragon spit on my tongue as I attempt to smile through the nasty flavor. The creature phantoms swallowing and I can't help but pull an exasperated face, allowing the cod to drop back into my lap. But I do as it asks, forcing the food past the lump in my throat and shivering when I feel it hit my stomach.
I look at the dragon and smile.
Its mouth starts twitching along the edges, eyes squinting in what looks like concentration as the two ends raise up into a weird dragonesque grin, complete with no teeth. Fascinated and more than a little awed I haul myself onto my knees, still clutching the cod with one hand while the other reaches out toward the dragon. Immediately the gummy smile drops, pupils slitting, as the creature snarls and takes off to the other side of the cove once again.
I abandon the fish and stand to watch as the Fury twists in a circle, charring the ground with its strange blue fire before curling up on the still flaming embers. Curiosity gets the better of me again as I go to sit down near it. Doesn't take long for it to notice me, huffing in what I'll assume is annoyance before sweeping its tail in front of its face.
Unable to resist I shift closer and reach out to stroke the smooth looking black scales. My hand is a foot away before the tail snaps closed, revealing a huge green eye. I spring to my feet and stroll in the other direction, trying to look casual even though I know I'm not fooling it. By the time I dare to glance over my shoulder it's already roosted on top of a protruding tree root, hanging upside down by its tail.
Hours later I find myself sitting on a boulder, not quite bored but without anything to do, so I pick up a stick and start doodling in the sand. Without really thinking about it a head and a pair of huge cat-like eyes are taking shape in front of me. It wasn't until I felt the huff of warm air against the side of my head that I realized the Fury was standing behind me.
Surprisingly I wasn't alarmed and ignored it until I heard a loud tromping and the snap of wood. When I turned around I saw that it'd come back with a tree branch as long as three of me, dragging it along the ground and smacking me in the head with the leafy part before tossing the wood to the side and sitting back to admire its work.
I stood from where I was sitting, studying the lines. There didn't seem to be any apparent pattern to them but it was amazing that the dragon had even tried in the first place. I took a few steps and managed to tread on one of the lines, irritating the creature enough to make it start growling. I froze, eyes moving cautiously to the lines before lifting my foot.
The subsonic sound instantly stopped, narrowed eyes widening into the picture of innocence once again and I couldn't help but smile. Carefully as I could I stepped around the lines, twisting and turning in every direction to miss them and nearly collapsing more than once. It was actually pretty fun, I got so into it that I didn't notice the dragon appear behind me until another gust of heated air ruffled my hair.
I carefully turned to see the creature less than two feet away, close enough to touch, and hesitantly raised my hand up toward its nose. It flinched away from my hand, raising its lip to bare a few teeth in warning. Inspiration struck and I suddenly knew what I had to do.
Lowering my head I closed my eyes, reaching a hand out so that it hovered in front of the dragon. It could choose to touch me, rip my arm off, or do nothing at all. That's the kind of power I'm giving it. A few seconds passed in silence before something smooth and hard pressed against my palm. I hesitantly raised my head and was amazed to see the creature pressing its nose into my hand, big eyes closed.
Seconds later it leaned back, the warmth of its scales leaving me before those huge green eyes opened once again. It snorted, pupils narrowing, before taking off back to the other side of the cove.
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Later that evening I met up with the other trainees for a bonfire. Having been Gobbers apprentice for many years now I'd already heard most of his favorite yarns, in fact I probably knew them almost as well as he did. That's why I wasn't very interested in listening as he described how he lost both his arm and leg. My mind was a thousand miles away, still stuck back at Ravens Point with my new friend.
"-and with one twist he took my hand and swallowed it whole!" Gobber said, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically before dropping them so he could take a bite of the cooked chicken he kept clenched in his good fist.
"I saw the look on is' face, I was delicious, and he must've passed the word because it wasn't a month before another one'a them took my leg" Gobber continued.
Fishlegs released a breathless wow from where he was seated next to me. I kept my eyes on the fire, resting my stick on the edge of the blaze and carefully cooking my cod.
"Wouldn't it be weird to think if your hand was inside a dragon" Fishlegs began, mashing a pair of chicken legs together in illustration, "if your mind was still in control of it, you could have killed the dragon from the inside by crushing its heart or something."
"I swear I'm so angry right now!" Lout spoke up, completely disregarding Fishlegs strange suggestion, "I swear I'll avenge your beautiful hand and your beautiful foot, I'll chop off the legs of every dragon I fight, with my face."
I suppressed an eye roll. Even with my mind preoccupied by my interaction with Toothless I'd still managed to spare enough attention to hear that. How does one manage to cut anything off with their face? What did he plan to hold an axe between his teeth or try head butting it until the limb fell off?
Gobber made a disapproving sound as he bit into his chicken, "It's the wings and the tails ye really want, if it can't fly it can't get away. A downed dragon is a dead dragon."
My eyes widened, the statement striking a cord as I remembered Toothless' tail.
The smith stretched his arms above his head, yawning, "Well I'm off ta bed and ye should be too, t'morrow we get ta the big boys…"
Gobber's voice disappeared in the distance as I rounded the corner and made my way to the forge. It wasn't uncommon for me to spend the night in the back room that Gobber allowed me to use as my personal drawing room. Not that anyone would notice if I spent the night there anyway.
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The next morning, bright and early, I made my way down to Toothless' cove. He – yes I have since discovered that my new dragon companion is in fact a he – was waiting for me there, sitting at the far end as I heaved myself and my load over the shield and dropped the basket on the ground with a huff.
"I brought you breakfast Toothless" I said, knocking the basket over with my foot and watching as the contents sloshed out.
"Okay that was disgusting" I said mildly, "but hey look, I got you some salmon, some nice Icelandic cod, and a whole smoked eel."
I had already started to move around Toothless as I spoke, trying to keep out of his way while he approached the basket and started nosing the contents. He recoiled when I mentioned the eel though, baring his teeth and bobbing his head as he spotted it on the pile.
I went forward and pulled the yellow and black body away from the rest. Toothless let out a sound somewhere between a shriek, hiss, and growl, bringing one wing up in apparent defense.
"No, no, no, no" I said, tossing it off to the side, which seemed to calm him enough to approach the pile of fish again. "Yea I don't like eel much either."
While he was distracted by the basket I slowly made my way around him, glancing back every few steps to make sure that he was still preoccupied. Once I was certain that he wouldn't notice I dropped to the ground and struggled with the straps on the prosthetic tailfin. Every time I would get it aligned with Toothless' tail he would shift again, until I eventually got tired of it and straddled the appendage, wrestling with it before finally settling down enough to attach the artificial tailfin.
After I'd gotten it on I sat back to check my work.
"Well it's not too bad…seems to work. Maybe if I added a little-"
Toothless jerked forward with enough force to nearly shake me off and I frantically gripped the base of his tail to keep from tumbling. The ground got smaller below me and somewhere in the back of my terror-filled mind I realized that I was screaming, clutching tighter to Toothless as he started to lose altitude.
I frantically grabbed for the tailfin and forced it open. We shot back into the sky, Raven's Point disappearing below us as Toothless flew out over the ocean. Terror forgotten I laughed out loud and smiled wider than I can remember doing in a long time.
"It works!"
I tilted the fin sharply to the right and was amazed when we circled back around to Raven's Point, gliding easily over the small lake. The excitement didn't last long though next thing I knew I was no longer clinging to Toothless' tail and instead skipping across the water's surface, eventually stopping when I belly flopped at the far end.
Kicking my way to the surface I broke the water with both fists pumped in the air, releasing a victorious Woohoo! and grinning widely at Toothless. He'd crash landed on the opposite side of the lake, paddling to shore while I shouted out my accomplishment. Judging from the annoyed glare he shot me he isn't as exuberant.
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"T'day is about teamwork" Gobber said as the cage opened and a cloud of gas seeped into the arena, "now a wet dragon head can't light its fire, the Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky, one head breathes gas while the other head lights it. Yer job is to know which is which."
I stood back to back with Ruffnut as the mist rolled in. I'm not quite sure why she chose to be paired with me, but the second I entered the training grounds she'd snagged me by the wrist and proclaimed that I would be her partner for the day. I thought I'd heard her mumble something about 'stupid boys' but it doesn't really matter now.
"There!"
Before we could react both of us were drenched. "Hey, it's us you idiots!" Ruffnut shouted.
The fog cleared, revealing Snotlout and Tuffnut holding a pair of empty buckets.
"Your butts are getting bigger, we thought you were a dragon" Tuff said.
Lout laughed, "Naw' it was probably just Hiccup's jugs and huge hips!"
I felt my face heat and tried to subtly pull my fur vest closer in a poor attempt to hide my figure. Much to my surprise Ruff retaliated by throwing her bucket at Lout, striking him clean in the face and sending him tumbling into Tuff. They both landed in a pile on the ground, groaning.
The female half of the Thorston twins snorted, "That'll teach you to mess with girls."
Without warning Tuffnut's eyes went wide and he was pulled into the mist. His shouting cut off a moment later. Snotlout, eyes wide, tried to scramble to his feet, only to be shoved back to the ground and dragged off too.
Ruff and I were back to back again, moving in a slow circle. Without making a sound I tapped her on the shoulder, she glanced back and I smiled, tilting my bucket so that half spilled into her own empty pail. She smiled maniacally in return, which I took to be her form of gratitude.
Another screech cut through the air and I recognized Tuffnut's voice. "I am hurt! I am very much hurt!"
All was quiet again once the male Thorston twin's cries faded. That is until a high-pitched yelp sounded somewhere off to the right and we turned just in time to see Fishlegs run past, followed by one of the heads. Ruffnut raised her bucket to douse it but wasn't fast enough as it disappeared back into the fog. Then our feet were swept out from under us and we landed in a heap on the ground.
Both heads appeared above us and we scrambled to get up, Ruffnut made it to her feet first and started to back away while I was a little slower, stumbling over one of the empty buckets and practically crawling away from the advancing lizard.
I'm not sure how but we ended up outside the cloud of gas, not that it helped much, the dragon was still chasing us. I'm not sure where Ruffnut had gone but I didn't dare take my eyes off the Zippleback to check. One of the mouths opened, gas leaking from between its teeth, while the other jerked as sparks lit up on its tongue.
All four eyes gazed down at me when it jerked forward, vibrating its wings in obvious threat as it prepared to attack. Thinking quickly I reached for my vest, where I still had the smoked eel that Toothless had rejected earlier that morning. Maybe…
"Hiccup!" I heard Gobber call.
But I'd already opened my vest, reveling the eel, and the beast instantly recoiled. The wings dropped and both heads reared back as far as they could go. I got to my feet and the dragon took a step back. "Back!" I cried, making shooing motion with my hands. Surprisingly it did, taking a step back and squawking in alarm while keeping its eyes trained on the fold of my vest.
"Back!" I shouted again, taking a step forward, "now don't make me ask you again!"
The dragon listened, backing up until it was safely back in its cage. I pulled the eel from my vest, "Now think about what you've done."
I tossed the slimy thing in and moved to shut the door, wiping leftover slime off my hands before turning to face everyone else. They all looked absolutely gob smacked and I smiled shyly at their slack-jawed expressions.
"Uh…so I've kinda' got…a thing, yea" I said hastily, already walking toward the arena door. The moment I was out of sight I broke into a dead sprint and didn't stop until I hit Raven's Point.